Overview

Richard Sherman’s Postgame Rant refers to televised taunts uttered by Seattle Seahawks’ cornerback during an interview following his team’s 23-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in January 2014.

Background

On January 19th, 2014, Seattle Seahawks won against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game after Sherman managed to tip a pass thrown to 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree, assisting Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith’s interception during the closing minute of the game. As a result of the victory, Seattle Seahawks advanced to to Super Bowl XLVIII. Immediately after the game, Sherman taunted Crabtree in an impassioned rant in an interview with Fox Sports sportscaster Erin Andrews (shown below).

Notable Developments

Crabtree’s Response

Following the game on January 19th, Crabtree posted a tweet seemingly directed at Sherman and his claims of being “the best.”

Online Reaction

According to ABC News,[5] the terms “Richard Sherman,” “Erin Andrews” and “Crabtree” immediately became trending topics on Twitter, culminating in a tweets-per-minute peak of 174,646. According to Topsy,[6] tweets containing the keywords “Richard Sherman” peaked on January 19th with over 1.3 million mentions. On January 20th, Redditor fieldallen submitted the Sherman interview clip to the /r/videos[1] subreddit, where it gained over 23,000 up votes and 6,300 comments in the first 24 hours. Meanwhile, YouTuber Benstonium uploaded a version of the clip edited as if he were being interviewed by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) (shown below).

On the same day, the Schmoyoho posted a songified version of the Sherman clip to their Instagram[3] page. Also on January 20th, the entertainment blog Hip Hop Wired[4] highlighted several notable image macros mocking the postgame interview (shown below).

Sherman Apologizes

On January 21st, ESPN[2] reported that Sherman had apologized to Crabtree for the taunts in a text message to ESPN reporter Ed Werder.

“I apologize for attacking an individual and taking the attention away from the fantastic game by my teammates … That was not my intent.”

Microphone Audio Released

On January 20th, reporter Curtis Crabtree tweeted that both Sherman and Crabtree were outfitted with recording devices during the NFC Championship Game. The following day, Redditor hMJem submitted the tweet to the /r/nfl subreddit, where it accumulated more than 3,800 up votes and 550 comments in four days.

Russell Wilson, Richard Sherman and Michael Crabtree all mic'd up. Will be on SoundFX on NFLN 9 PM Wednesday.

On January 22nd, audio from the game was released, which showed Sherman congratulating Crabtree for a “helluva game” prior to being shoved in the face by the 49ers receiver. On the following day, Redditor ThisGuyNeedsABeer submitted the audio to the /r/nfl subreddit, receiving upwards of 8,600 up votes and 2,600 comments in the next 24 hours.

Facebook Comments

Top Comments

Wow, a top-level athlete hopped up on game day adrenaline and post-win euphoria boasts about his victory over a rival? What an unexpected situation! I never could have imagined such a thing to take place in my lifetime!